The Wind of God and a Celtic Blessing

View from the Camino

 So yesterday morning when I left the alberque their was a very strong wind blowing.  It was about 6:30 and once again I was led by moonlight.  At first I was concerned about the wind.  Last Sunday it had been a difficult walk as I faced a headwind most of the way.
    I thought of one of my favorite introits at church, Blow, Blow, Wind of God (I think that´s the name - it was sung this summer I know).  So I sang that to myself as I walked, with the wind of God surrounding me.

scarecrows in a vineyard

   As I left the little village and entered the Camino path I realized the wind was going to be at my back.  Another song, A Celtic Blessings, has a line in it:"May the wind be always at your back."  Indeed, what a blessings!  With the wind at my back each step was just a little lighter, the slight push helped me on my way.  With the wind at my back I could enjoy its coolness and as the sun rose and the temperature started to rise, the strong wind continued to keep me cool.  Shortly before I reached Sahagun, my destination for the day, the wind started to fade to a small breeze.  But it had helped me to my destination.
    The Meseta is an interesting part of the Camino.  I have found it to be beautiful, but there is something about being able to see long distances that can really mess with my mind.  I saw Sahagun over an hour before I finally reached it.  I sometimes feel like an ant, but I know from watching ants that even they cover a large area because they keep moving.  So I keep moving at whatever pace I can keep.  And I shall remember that God is with me on this pilgrimage, whether the wind blows or not.

The arch is from the ruins of a former monastery in Sahagun

   May the wind be always at your back.  Bueno Camino!

Wow!  I uploaded a picture.  So here´s the Meseta that we continue to walk.  Someone called it a desert, but it´s not really that.  It´s just vast flat land with fields on either side.  There are lots of cereal crops in this area, also sunflowers, and stacks and stacks of hay in the fields.  My boots are covered with white dust.
    I´m amazed at the body´s ability to recover.  Yesterday as I hobbled into the Monastery of Santa Clara I thought I might never walk again, but after a shower and a short rest I walked into town (hobbling at first), and then once again enjoying walking.  Last night I didn´t sleep really well, had a sinus headache and with it are concerns that I might get a sinus infection.  But in spite of that, during the sleep that I did get my body rejuvenated.  This morning my feet were no longer protesting and I was able to walk 12 miles.
   As I left Carrion de los Condes I fell into step with a German gentleman I had met yesterday, Dirk.  We had a great conversation as we walked.  He is from East Germany and told me he was originally with a ballet troupe, but then he was got interested in directing the ballets, went from their into photographs but he wanted the story also.  So now he makes film documentaries.  He was explaining to me that most of the younger generation has left East Germany for West Germany and now there are a majority of older persons.  He made a documentary about this expressing the stories of the older people who miss their families and indeed, miss an entire generation.  They used theater, dance, and put it all together in a film.  His mother was one of the dancers.
    He said he also left for about 20 years.  His home was in a mining area and it was gutted and ugly.  He left and at one point was living in Sydney Australia when his father turned 70.  He realized his parents would not be around for ever and decided to return home and be near them.  So now he has coffee each morning with his father before he heads to work.  He talked quite a bit about the importance of inter-generational contact and that being one of the things he is enjoying about the Camino.  It´s true.  There is Richard from Australia who is 80 and Fabienne from Switzerland who is 19 and everything in between.  Actually I briefly saw a family from France and they had their 16 year old son and 11 year old daughter with them.   Last Sunday I was at mass in Boadilla and just sitting there after church when in walked Leif and Karin, an older couple from Sweden who I had not seen since sharing breakfast with them and then they were off to find a dentist (he had broken off his front tooth).  It was so wonderful to see them as they greeted me with hugs.   Yes, the inter-generational relationships are important.
   Today the computer is about 10 feet from my bed, so I´ll try to upload some more pictures.  May you have a good conversation with someone older or younger than you today.  Bueno Camino!

A long day

   I left Boadillo early this morning, before 6AM so I could walk in the cool air.  I had an added bonus as the full moon had not set and the light from it was enough to guide my walking.  It was lovely. Made it to Fromist and had breakfast and also got to see Katarine just as she was getting on the bus.  Sheś probably in her late 20ś and hurt her knee.  She thought she had pushed too hard earlier on the Camino.  Sheś from Germany and was only staying 10 days anyway, but it was sad to see her boarding the bus.  She´ĺl return to Borgas and stay a couple of days then head back to Germany.
    We had an alternate route along a river which I took.  So glad as it had some shade whereas the main path had none.  It was welcome on the beautiful sunny day.  Up ahead as pilgrims entered the town of Villaveico I could see they were stopping next to a white car.  Sometimes townspeople sell cold drinks so thatś what I was expecting.  Instead, as I approached there was an older gentleman standing there with a basket of small hard candies.  He offered me one and I gladly accepted.
    Then he pulled out a stamp.  We get our credentials stamped at each alberque and also churches and other locations so I thought that was what he wanted.  But instead he took my hand and stamped it as he smiled and spoke to me in Spanish.  I could only say gracias as I knew he had done something special for my spirit.
    On the other side of this small town was a bar located in a tree lined square with tables and chairs and a playground.  A young lady took my order for a nestea which she poured on ice with orange slices in it.  Then she handed me a saucer with four little tiny cookies on it.  Another gift.  That certain helped as I prepared to walk the last 8 km.    But I fizzled with 2 still to go.
   When I reached Carrion de los Condes and saw the monastery of Santa Clara (the poor Clares) I was greatly relieved.  I don´t think I could have taken another step.  I am thankful for the small blessings of this day.
   Just a note - I would love to add pictures but Iḿ usually using the internet in a bar and I have 20 minutes to a euro with others usually waiting.  If I find an alberque with internet I WILL try to get some pictures up.  Someone sent directions - thank you, Kim!  So patience please.  In the meantime, Beuno Camino!

Remembering then continuing onward

   Last night 3 lovely Italians hosted the alberque sponsored by the Confraternity of Italy: the Hospital de San Nicolas in Intero del Castillo.   This small place  was a 13th century chapel converted by the Confraternity - again with no electricity, but thanks to a solar panel there was some hot water.  We heard the bell ring three times and thought it was for dinner.  One of the hosts came out with a short peregrino cape draped over her shoulders.  She beckoned us to come in.
   As we entered we found the 3 hosts in the small chapel on one end and we gathered there each taking our seat.  They then came to each of us, asked out first name, then as one poured water over our foot and the other dried it the third pronounced a pilgrim blessing for us.  It was a profound experience of community in this tiny chapel space.  Ten minutes later we sat down to a simple dinner of spaghetti (with a wonderful spice), the tomatoes, cucmbers and tuna along with spices in olive oil.  Dessert was a real treat of mixed fresh fruits.
   Today I set out after breakfast, dawn was breaking but I did not have to leave so early... I knew I would walk only a short way (just over 6 miles).  But there was a chill in the air as clouds covered the morning sun along with a strong headwind.  It seemed fitting for this 10th anniversary of 9/11.  It was a slow walk, good for remembering that day.  My 9/11 is permanently entwined with my flight to Houston that day.  We went down in Nashville around 9:30 and I traveled by car with a wonderful woman who was lawyer from Houston.  We arrived in Houston about 1:00AM on the 12th...  my mom flinging open the door to give me a big hug and my dad waking up to smile at me and say,"Cathy, you made it."
    During the week I had many conversations with my dad, the last I would have.  The next time I saw him in January he was semi-conscious and could do little more than say my name.  He died on April 11, the 7 month anniversary of 9/11.  So this morning as I walked I remembered my dad with great love and affection.  He and my mom were a good fit - there first date was in Casper WY and it started with him giving my mom $100 and telling her not to give it back to him until the end of the night.  Then he took her to the bars he frequented and did a little gambling.  Mom faithfully held on to the money and did not give it back to him at the end of the evening.  When he called the next day she assured him that she had the money and they saw each other again.  I remember mom saying that her mother was a little skeptical when she said she was going to marry Jim Willis, but mom saw the good in him.   In their marriage dad knew how to make my mom laugh and mom knew how to manage their finances so that their needs were met.
    During one of our convesations that week in Houston my dad noted that he regretted not spending more time with my brother and I as kids.  He worked for Phillips Petroleum and often got home late or had to leave in the middle of the night to take care of problems.  But I remembered him as as the father who spent much of one summer building a stand alone "tree house" for my brother and I (since we had no large trees in our yard) where we loved to play and sometimes sleep.  I remember her making a kite for us during our school lunch break and flying it with us.  I remember our two week vacations taken faithfully every year where he loved to point out to us historical sites, show us new places, and always, we visited relatives and got to spend time with our cousins spread all over.  I assured him I did not feel neglected.  In fact I had thought of him last week when my Camino path was suddenly blocked by a herd of sheep.   My dad took me with him for one work day where we traveled to wells throughout Kansas.  At one point our road was blocked by pigs.  I remember my dad laughing as we waited for all these pigs to pass.  At the end of the day we stopped at a drive-in and I got a root beer float while my dad radioed mom to let her know we were almost home.
     So today I remember my dad, and I remember the many lives lost on 9/11.  I remember the destruction that can be caused by being so rigid with our beliefs we cannot tolerate others.  But I will continue looking for the goodness in all.  I will continue walking with people whose language I do not speak yet we can still walk with one another.  I continue onward with great hope.  With 9/11 terrorists sought to instill fear, but the Camino instills only a sense of community and great safety.  Blessings be with you this day in your own remembering, and may hope be your companion this week.  Bueno Camino!
   

Shooting Stars and Hospitality

   I had the most amazing day yesterday (Sept 9).  But first I must preface it with Sept. 8th.  On that day I left Burgos.  Burgos is a lovely city - an amazing park all along the river (sure beats I-91 along the CT river in Springfield).  But it is harder walking in the city for some reason.  And as we left we passed warehouses, then a quarry which was very noisy.  Just beyond that there was machinery working on building a large highway (I have some fears about the Camino as I see "progress").  Then on to a walk on glaring white rock as the day got hotter.  There were field of harvest hay around us, just short stalks of straw left in the ground.  A few had been plowed and the soil was full of good size white rocks.

   So around 1:00 when I arrived in Hornillos I was ready to stop.  So was everyone else, and they must have been faster than I.  The 36 bed alberque was already full and the 1st overflow building also.  So the couple before me and myself followed the lady over to the gymnasium where cots had been set up around the outside walls.  The gymnasium was HUGE!  Very, very high ceiling.  Soccer nets at each end.  Flies everywhere.  I hesitated a moment, but thought, no, I need to just take what is offered.  I was grateful for a place to sleep and started looking for blessings.

   The first was the bathroom - newly renovated with the first shower I´ve taken that had a whole room to itself.  It was spotless!  The next was meeting the young lady who took the bed next to mine.  Ann Marie is from England.  She was going to walk for one week, but then she was laid off from her job (said she didn´t care for her boss anyway), so she decided to walk from Burgos to Santiago.  Unemployed she´s on a low budget walk.  She was delightful to talk with - more about her later.

    The town of Hornillos seemed to not have a single tree and of the 3 benches lining the short road through town only one was in shade.  So most of the 60 plus peregrinos took a siesta.  I found the gym depressing so I followed the shade around the church pillars and did very little (except walking to the tiny market to get a few food supplies for the next day.  In the evening people did come out and I met Walter from Austria as we shared tapas at the bar.  I was pretty sure they were going to be on overload for dinner so Walter and I both had the same idea. 

    After dinner I visited the church which had opened and stayed in its cool sanctuary for quite a while.  Then in the shade on the steps outside I had a lovely conversation with Bente from Denmark.  She too decided to celebrate her 60th birthday on the Camino - but she´s actually turning 60 later this week.  She had already walked from Leon to Santiago, so this time she walked started in St Jean de Pied and will end in Leon.  Sonn Fabienne from Switzerland joined us.  She´s 19 and has just ended her formal education so she is taking her sabbatical year (seems to be assumed all students will take one year off before going on to university).   She decided to walk the Camino though her mother was concerned about her safety.  She convinced her to let her walk for a month starting from Burgos.  She continued to tell us about some of the majors she is considering - they are quite diverse.  As the sun set we headed to our respective sleeping areas and I found that the tiny matress surrounded me like a cocoon and I slept soundly until 5:15AM

    At that point I awoke refreshed and ready to go.  I thought I would start early and beat the heat that would come with the day.  As I walked from the dark gym into the dark alley I was stunned by a sky absolutely packed with stars I had never seen.  Orion was right in front of me complete with shield - something I do not get to see in the Springfield sky.   Then the day was set as I saw a shooting star across the sky.  I walked down the alley past the church and back onto the road through town.  Still looking up I saw another shooting star.  And just beyond town as I set my pace on the Camino path I saw still another.  It doesn´t get much better than this I thought!  So I walked, sometimes hearing the conversation of the German gentleman in front of me who is walking with his mother (who is probably in her 70s).  It was a lovely quiet walk and since the path is so flat in this area I could walk without a flashlight, surrounded by a sky of stars.

    Soon there was first light, then a little more and by the time I had climbed the path up the hillside I could look back and see the first red glow of the coming day.  I had to continually turn around to watch this beautiful sunrise.  As I walked I was passed by other pilgrims (on occasion I pass someone - but not often.  I met a few new pilgrims such as Benton from Ireland.  He told me he went there from Scotland years ago and stayed. 

    But then I came around a corner to see the ruins of the Monastery of San Anton.  It was run by an order started in France that traces its history back to the St. Anthony of Egypt.  The ruins were of a towering cathedral type building with arched windows open to the blue sky beyond.  And over the Camino there was St Anthony´s arch with two little nooks in it where bread would be left for the peregrinos passing by.  I walked inside the ruins and knew immediately that I was going to stay over there even though it was only 10:30 in the morning.  I sat for quite a while then met Alvaro, the hospitalero (volunteer host) and asked him when the alberque opened.  He warned me that there was no electricity or hot water and when I said that was okay he took me to a small room connected to the main area where there were 6 bunkbeds.  I chose my place and changed to my sandals.

    The ruins were constantly visited by peregrinos.  At one point Fabienne arrived, limping.  She said she had a year old ankle injury and had brought her brace, but had not expected it to flair up so quickly.  So she hoped to call a taxi to take her to Castojerez (only 5 km away).  She went to talk with Alvaro, but he said he would just take her there.  While they were talking a doctor and his wife, a nurse, came in and they checked her ankle, made some recommendations and gave her two pain pills.  Then I was appointed (with a 5 minute training) as hospitalero until Alvaro returned.  As I was sitting in the main area - open to the outside who should arrive but Santiago.  I thought he was days ahead of me by now.  We had a lovely reunion, talked in our awkward sign language, wished each other Bueno Camino and he was off again.  It was so good to be able to see him again and thank him for his help.

    So Alvaro was back.  As I walked back outside I saw Ann Marie in a corner of the ruins busily working on a watercolor of one section.  She had a a pad of paper, a large box of watercolors and a number of brushes with large handles.  She said she was trying to paint each day and showed me her work.  She was doing a lovely job.  Alvaro had already talked to me about lunch (to be served about 2:30) so when Ann Marie talked about wanting to stay I told her I was staying over and lunch would be served.  She decided to stay.  Later as we ate our garlic soup and drank wine Nicola from Germany arrived and joined us and just as we were finishing Sabina, also from Germany, arrived.  Both stayed for the night.  We enjoyed the time and the day seemed to unfold in just the way each of us needed. 

    We took our cold showers and found it was not terrible.  Later we fixed a huge salad and around 8:30 sat and shared another meal then cleaned up.  As dusk fell Alvaro started lighting many, many tea light set on rocks in little nooks throughout one slightly curved area of the ruins.  We sat outside and just drank in the coming night and watched the stars start to appear.  We could not see as many as in the early morn however due to the rising of an almost full moon which was so brightly reflected in the ruins that we did not need a light outside and shadows were cast on the otherside.  We quietly got ready for bed and slept soundly.

    The harried worker at the alberque in Hornillos did her best, but there was little room for hospitality.  At the ruins of a monastery we found endless hospitality.  May you find hospitality when you need it and offer it to all you meet.  It can help each of us through the day.  Bueno Camino!

End of the day

    Well... the Cathedral in Burgos is amazing.  Just looking at it from the outside was pretty awesome.  Í spent another hour and a half inside.  I just finished dinner and people are pouring into the streets of Burgos the same way the do in cities in Italy.  The evening is young, children are rested and now playing and eating ice cream.  I love the social aspect of these streets.
    Today though, I´ve been thinking about my friend Lucy from Trinity.  When Lucy heard I was going on the Camino she came up to me so excited.  She and her husband had visited this area of Spain (I imagine the cathedral in Burgos was among the sights) and she knew all about the Camino.  She was all for my walking it and wanted to know everything about how I was preparing.
    Later, when I let everyone know about my blog she was the first to tell me she had gone to it and would be following me everyday.  And I knew she would.  Lucy always did what she said she would.  But she died the Saturday before I left for Spain, and it was a great loss to me (as a companion to me on this journey) and to our church.
   You see, Lucy was one of those strong women in the church who was a provided leadership.  If Lucy said she would do something - it would be done.  For 15 -20 years I have heard talk (and for a while I tried to get this done) about getting signs up on the major street leading to the church.  We always ran into glitches.  When I heard Lucy was taking care of it, I knew it would be done.  She worked tirelessly to take care of details that kept Trinity going.  I was so looking forward to sharing with her about Spain upon my return.  But perhaps in a another sense she is truly with me on this journey.  On the days when I don´t think I´ll make it any farther, I can think of Lucy saying "oh you can do it, Cathy". 
   Tomorrow I begin the Meseta, a wilderness like part of the Camino that will go on for about 7 days until I arrive in Leon.  It is pretty much very exposed, no shade, miles upon miles with not much change in landscape except for some inclines up onto the mesas and back down.  At the church in San Juan de Ortega there was a whole intaglio with demons in each panel.  I do wonder what the demons will be that might emerge in the Meseta.  Keep me in your prayers.
   And also, would you keep Maria in your prayers.  She is a young woman I met from Korea day before yesterday.  She had stopped on a shaded bench.  She told me she was a nurse, but had quit to take care of both of her parents who had cancer.  They had gotten to be to much for her to care for them.  I´m not sure how, but she told me her father said for her to walk the Camino and take as much time as she needed.  She was a small woman, but her pack was huge.  I didn´t tell her it was too heavy, she´ll find that out for herself.  I have a feeling she will be needing to let go of some other things also.  Please hold her in your prayers.
   On to the Meseta!  May the experience of the wilderness be no less powerful than the other experiences of the Camino.  Bueno Camino!

Arrival in Borgos!

   Today I arrived in Borgus.  Tina, from Finland, and I decided to go as far as the last suburb before Burgos, then take the bus in.  We were joined by Mihael of Hungary and Ananda and Herman of South Africa.  It was a great idea as it meant the last 5 kilometers going through the edges of the city were eliminated and instead we experience the wonderful bus service in Burgos right to the old city.

    Besides, my feet were killing me.  I´d done another 19.5plus day yesterday.  I wasn´t as tired as the first time, but it still took it´s toll on me.  For instance, as I stepped out of the shower (fully clothed thank goodness) I realized I was in the men´s room.  Goodness!  It´s so hard to tell sometimes.

    Today I´m staying at the Divina Pastora, a hostel above the chapel La Capilla de la Divina Pastora.  They have mass tonight at 6:00.  Earlier, just after my arrival, the hospitalero (volunteer host) was serenading us on the guitar.  It was lovely, though I was a little surprised when he started to play The House of the Rising Sun.

    The walk earlier today was beautiful - through large forests of oak and then pine.  That opened up to rolling fields and at one point I could count 10 different wind turbine installations on the higher rises that seem to have a constant breeze.  I took some pictures and if I can figure out how to get them onto this blog I will do so.  The instructions are all in spanish and my first attempt was not very successful.  But I´ll try again.

   Off to explore Burgos.  More later...   Bueno Camino!